The Worthington post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Okabena (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 13,947154 years
How historic is Worthington?
B
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Worthington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Worthington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Worthington is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #85 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Worthington’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Worthington’s 5.1 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 7 listings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Worthington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Organization of Worthington Township was approved by the Nobles County Board on April 30, 1872. The first township meeting was held on May 20, 1872. Petitioners requested the name Worthington from the town that was emerging within the township border. The town of Worthington was named in honor of the mother-in-law of Dr. Aaron P. Miller, one of the town's founding fathers.
Passages that mention Worthington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
An illustrated history of Nobles County, Minnesota1908 · page 155Read the page →
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Worthington came into existence as the result of the building of the Sioux City & St. Paul railroad.* The permanent survey was made early in 181 1.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Nobles County, Minnesota1908 · page 157Read the page →
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During the time the railroad was being graded through southwestern Minnesota the site where afterwards tlie town of Worthington was built was known as Okabena. When the colony company became interested, and before the town was founded, the name was changed to Worthington, which was tlie
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Worthington, 1872 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Worthington post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Worthington rank for history?
Worthington is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #85 of 273 in Minnesota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Worthington?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Kilbride, Dr. E. A., Clinic (listed 1977, the first), and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Worthington?
15% of Worthington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1972.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the Library of Congress (12), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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